News roundup - Thursday, 4 July, until 3pm

Golob not to sign Ukraine security agreement next week

LJUBLJANA - PM Robert Golob will not sign a security agreement with Ukraine at the NATO summit in Washington, DC next week as the wording is still being finalised by the Foreign Ministry. The agreement is being finalised at the ministry level and the government has not yet been informed about any requirements, Deputy PM Matej Arčon said. Ukraine has signed similar bilateral security agreements with 18 countries so far.

Foreign Minister Fajon visiting Brazil

BRASILIA, Brazil - Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon is starting a three-day official visit to Brazil aiming to strengthen bilateral relations. She will meet her counterpart Mauro Viera to discuss cooperation and global issues, and representatives of the Slovenian-Brazilian and Slovenian-Argentinian chambers of commerce.

Commission welcomes president's initiative for decent burial

LJUBLJANA - The government commission for concealed graves welcomed the initiative by President Nataša Pirc Musar for a decent burial of victims of the war and post-war violence who have not been buried. The commission will begin public discussion on the matter in the autumn and expects to cooperate with the government and the president's office.

Supreme Court annuls admonition of Mesec for defamation

LJUBLJANA - The Supreme Court has annulled the admonition of Labour Minister Luka Mesec for defaming economist Bernard Brščič, the former president of the non-parliamentary far-right party Homeland League, the newspaper Dnevnik reported. The court "agreed with my statement that the things Brščič is saying can be called fascism," Mesec said.

Dismissal suit of former RTV Slovenija boss back to square one

LJUBLJANA - An appeals court has overturned a lower-court decision that Andrej Grah Whatmough, the former director of public broadcaster of RTV Slovenija, had been wrongfully dismissed in August 2023. It ordered a retrial, the newspaper Delo reported. The suit hinges on procedural issues, specifically how Grah Whatmough had been informed of the dismissal via a detective while he claims he was on vacation.

Court of Audit finds irregularities in six parties concerning EUR 250,000

LJUBLJANA - Audits for 2022 of six political parties, including all five parliamentary parties, have found irregularities in connection to the use of over EUR 253,000 and tasked the parties to donate EUR 20,000 for charity, the Court of Audit said.

Chambers give comments and proposals on draft tax changes

LJUBLJANA - The Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) and AmCham expressed their reservations about the government proposal for fiscal changes, for which public consultation period ended on Wednesday. The GZS said the changes were not systemic, would not contribute to the stability of the fiscal environment or address key economic challenges, while AmCham Slovenia urged expanding the group of employees benefiting from a reduction of tax on wages and start-ups getting more favourable treatment.

Police file criminal complaint against two minors in school violence case

LJUBLJANA - Police have filed criminal complaints against two minors in relation to the recent attack on another student in a primary school in the Brežice municipality. Based on a recording of the attack on TikTok, the police found the attacker was not acting alone, TV Slovenija reported on Wednesday. Unofficially, the attacker also planned the attack with another student.

Experts warn anti-violence campaign might have reverse effect

LJUBLJANA - Experts expressed criticism of a campaign against peer violence and hate speech launched by the Digital Transformation Ministry in March. They believe the campaign's slogans and posters might actually encourage violence and hate speech, so they call for their removal, the web portal N1 reported on Wednesday.

Number of newly registered cars up in H1, EVs down by half

LJUBLJANA - The number of registered new cars and light commercial vehicles increased by over 5% to over 32,800 in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, data from the Chamber of Commerce show. On the other hand, the number of new electric vehicles (EV) nearly halved to some 4,600.

Art Stays contemporary art festival delves into space

PTUJ - The 22nd Art Stays festival of contemporary art, entitled The Space, will once again fuse Ptuj's cultural heritage with contemporary art production from around the world. Staring today, about 50 artists from over 20 countries will participate at the festival running until 8 September.